Rise in ‘whistleblowing’ on arts and culture charities

Cases of whistleblowing have reached a three-year high among charities operating in arts, culture, heritage and science.

Figures published by the Charity Commission show that in 2023/24 there were 68 whistleblowing disclosures for charities in these sectors, compared with 51 disclosures in 2022/23 and 35 in 2021/22.

Across all charities, the Commission said there were 561 whistleblowing disclosures in 2023/24 – a 71.6 increase on the previous year’s 327, and double the 281 complaints received in 2021/22.

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The Commission said that overall, the majority of whistleblowing disclosures it received in the latest period were from employees and ex-employees (54%). The main issues raised were governance, safeguarding or financial management concerns.

In 2023/24, about half (49%) of concerns raised were related to governance, with almost a quarter (23%) connected to financial harms, and about a further fifth (19%) linked to safeguarding and protecting people.

Aside from whistleblowing, complaints to the Charity Commission from members of the public have also risen, increasing by about 50% between 2022/23 and 2023/24. Matters of material significance reports by auditors and independent examiners rose by 10% in the same period, and reports of serious incidents from charity trustees rose by 5%.

The Commission says the exact reasons for this broader increase in concerns being raised about charities are “unclear”.

But with reference to its own research, it added that “in a challenging financial environment post-Covid and with inflation and cost of living pressures all impacting on the sector, this may be why we are seeing more demand on charities and therefore more complaints coming to us as the regulator”.

The Commission says it is likely to treat both charity workers and volunteers (including trustees) who raise serious concerns with it about their charity as whistleblowers, even though only workers have statutory protections when doing this.